Inside a New York State Division of Human Rights Case: Investigation, Probable Cause and Hearing

Once a signed complaint is on file, a New York State Division of Human Rights case moves through a set order of stages: service on the employer and written responses, an investigation, a determination of probable cause or no probable cause, and, if probable cause is found, a public hearing before an Administrative Law Judge followed by a Final Order from the Commissioner.⁠^[1][3][4][5] Settlement is possible at any point after filing, and a court can review the Division's order afterward.⁠^[9][8]

This page follows a complaint under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) from the day it is filed. For the steps before that, see how to file with the Division. The "complainant" is the person who filed; the "respondent" is the employer or person complained about.⁠^[10]

The stages at a glance

Stage	What happens	Time frame in the statute or rule
1. Service and written responses	The Division serves the complaint, asks the respondent for a written response and gives the complainant a chance to file a rebuttal.⁠[2][1]	The statute says service is made "promptly."⁠[2]
2. Investigation	An investigator may interview parties and witnesses, request documents and visit locations.⁠[1]	The Division says this can take several months.⁠[1]
3. Determination	The Division decides whether it has jurisdiction and whether there is probable cause.⁠[10]	Statutory target: 180 days after the complaint is filed.⁠[10]
4. Notice of hearing	If the complaint is not dismissed or conciliated, the Division issues a notice requiring the respondent to answer and appear at a public hearing.⁠[11]	Statutory target: 270 days after the complaint is filed.⁠[11]
5. Public hearing	An Administrative Law Judge takes sworn testimony and evidence from both sides.⁠[4][12]	The hearing may last one or more days, not necessarily consecutive.⁠[4]
6. Proposed order and objections	The judge prepares a proposed order with findings of fact and a decision and serves it on all parties.⁠[13]	Written objections within 21 days after service.⁠[13]
7. Final Order	The Commissioner issues the Final Order.⁠[5]	Statutory target: 180 days after the hearing begins.⁠[14]
8. Court review	Any complainant, respondent or other person aggrieved may seek review in State Supreme Court.⁠[8]	Within 60 days after service of the order.⁠[8]

The 180-day, 270-day and 180-day figures are the NYSHRL's own time frames for the Division.⁠^[6] The Division's statement to the public is different: "From the time an official complaint is filed, you should expect the process of investigating your case to take at least several months, and sometimes longer."⁠^[7] The statutory figures are time frames written into the law, not a prediction for any case.

Stage 1: What happens right after filing?

The NYSHRL directs the Division to promptly serve a copy of the complaint on the respondent and on anyone it considers a necessary party, and to investigate promptly.⁠^[2] The Division asks the respondent to answer in writing. After it receives the response, the Division shares it with the complainant and gives the complainant an opportunity to reply in writing, which it calls a rebuttal.⁠^[2]

The case then waits for an investigator. The Division says it assigns complaints to investigators in the order in which they were received and that, given the volume of complaints, it will take time for an investigator to reach a case.⁠^[1] The Division received 8,403 complaints in State fiscal year 2024.⁠^[15]

Stage 2: How does the investigation work?

The investigator may interview the parties and witnesses, request documents and visit locations.⁠^[1] Division investigators are neutral fact-finders who represent New York State. They are not advocates for either side of a complaint and cannot give legal advice to any party.⁠^[16]

On the practical side, this is the stage at which each side supplies names of witnesses and copies of documents, so keeping contact details current with the Division and answering its requests on time matters. Under the Division's rules, a complainant who is unavailable or unwilling to participate in conciliation or investigation, or to attend a hearing, is one ground for dismissing a complaint for administrative convenience.⁠^[17]

Stage 3: Probable cause or no probable cause

At the end of the investigation the Division issues a determination.⁠^[3] The Division describes probable cause this way: there is enough reliable evidence to believe that discrimination occurred, but it is not the final decision in the case.⁠^[5] A probable cause finding sends the complaint to a public hearing.⁠^[5][3]

If the Division finds that it lacks jurisdiction or that probable cause does not exist, the Commissioner issues an order dismissing those allegations.⁠^[10] What follows a dismissal depends on its type:

• No probable cause or lack of jurisdiction. In an employment case, the complainant's route is a court proceeding to review the dismissal; the statute allows a fresh lawsuit after this kind of dismissal "in cases of housing discrimination only."⁠^[18] The Division says such dismissals can only be appealed in New York State Supreme Court within 60 days; the statute counts the 60 days from service of the order.⁠^[3][8]
• Administrative convenience. Before a hearing, the Division may, in its unreviewable discretion, dismiss a complaint for administrative convenience if it finds that noticing the complaint for hearing would be undesirable.⁠^[17] After this kind of dismissal the person keeps all rights to bring suit as if no complaint had been filed.⁠^[19]
• Annulment at the complainant's request. At any time before a hearing before a hearing examiner, the complainant may ask the Division to dismiss the complaint and annul the election of remedies so the claim can be pursued in court; the Division may grant the request.⁠^[19]

The election of remedies guide explains why the type of dismissal matters for a later lawsuit. Under the Division's rules, a respondent may apply in writing to reopen a probable cause determination within 60 days after it is issued, and where a complaint was dismissed for no probable cause or lack of jurisdiction, the time to seek court review has expired and less than one year has passed, reopening may rest only on later events or newly discovered evidence of wrongdoing, fraud or irregularity.⁠^[20]

Conciliation and settlement along the way

Under the NYSHRL, at any time after the complaint is filed the Division may try to eliminate the practice by conference, conciliation and persuasion.⁠^[21] A conciliation agreement includes provisions requiring the respondent to refrain from unlawful discriminatory practices in the future, and the Division may not disclose what happened in the course of conciliation.⁠^[21] It is itself an unlawful discriminatory practice for a party to a conciliation agreement to violate its terms.⁠^[22]

The Division says a complaint can be settled at any point after it is filed, but both sides have to agree to the terms before the Division can approve a settlement; it holds settlement conferences before hearings and says many complaints are resolved this way.⁠^[9] One consequence for fees: in a Division proceeding the Commissioner may award attorney's fees only as part of a final order after a public hearing.⁠^[23] The guide to mediation in employment cases compares the agencies' settlement processes.

A complainant may also withdraw a pending complaint, in writing, at any time before a notice of hearing is served; after that, discontinuing the case takes notice to the respondent and the Commissioner's consent.⁠^[24]

Stages 4 and 5: The public hearing

The notice of hearing requires the respondent to answer the charges and appear at a public hearing before a hearing examiner.⁠^[11] The statute's term is "hearing examiner"; the Division's pages call the same officer an Administrative Law Judge.⁠^[11][4]

• Who presents the case. The case in support of the complaint is presented by one of the Division's attorneys or agents and, at the complainant's option, by the complainant's own attorney.⁠^[11]
• The respondent's answer. The respondent files a written answer, sworn subject to the penalties of perjury, at least two business days before the hearing.⁠^[12]
• Evidence. Testimony is under oath and a record is made. The hearing examiner is not bound by the strict rules of evidence that apply in courts, and under the Division's rules hearsay evidence is fully admissible.⁠^[12]
• Independence. No one who investigated or conciliated the case may sit as the hearing examiner.⁠^[12]
• Format. The Division holds public hearings by videoconference, and anyone may attend, including members of the public and the press.⁠^[5] A word-for-word transcript is made.⁠^[4]
• Who decides. The Division says the Commissioner reviews the allegations, the evidence and the judge's recommended order, and then issues the Final Order.⁠^[5][13]

Stages 6 and 7: The proposed order and the Commissioner's Final Order

After the hearing, the Administrative Law Judge prepares a proposed order for the Commissioner containing findings of fact and a decision, and a copy is served on all parties. Objections to the proposed order are made in writing and filed in the Commissioner's office within 21 days after service.⁠^[13] The Commissioner then issues the Final Order.⁠^[5]

If the Commissioner finds an unlawful discriminatory practice, the order may include the following.⁠^[25]

• a direction to cease and desist, and affirmative action such as hiring, reinstatement or upgrading of employees, with or without back pay;⁠^[25]
• compensatory damages to the person aggrieved, for which the statute states no dollar limit;⁠^[26]
• punitive damages in cases of employment discrimination related to private employers, but not against the State or local governments;⁠^[27][28]
• civil fines and penalties of up to $50,000, or up to $100,000 for an act found to be willful, wanton or malicious, paid to the State and stated separately from any damages;⁠^[29][30]
• reasonable attorney's fees, in the Commissioner's discretion, to a prevailing or substantially prevailing party as part of the final order after the hearing;⁠^[23]
• interest on money awarded.⁠^[31]

The Division's own summary of possible remedies lists reinstatement, back pay with interest and benefits, changes in policies, attorney's fees, compensation for emotional pain and suffering, and civil fines and penalties.⁠^[32] These are the remedies the law makes available, not a forecast for any complaint. The guide to damages in New York employment cases compares them with court remedies.

After the order: compliance and court review

Compliance. Not later than one year from the date of a conciliation agreement or an order, the Division investigates whether the respondent is complying, and takes action if it finds non-compliance.⁠^[33] Willfully violating an order of the Division is a misdemeanor under the NYSHRL, although seeking review of an order is not treated as willful conduct.⁠^[34]

Court review. Any complainant, respondent or other person aggrieved by a Division order may seek review in State Supreme Court, in the county where the practice occurred or where a person bound by the order resides or does business.⁠^[8] The proceeding is started within 60 days after service of the order.⁠^[8] If the order followed a public hearing, Supreme Court transfers the proceeding to the Appellate Division.⁠^[8] The court treats the Division's findings of fact as conclusive if they are supported by sufficient evidence on the record considered as a whole, and it generally does not consider objections that were not raised before the Division.⁠^[8]

What people commonly get wrong

• "The investigator is on my side." The Division describes its investigators as neutral and says they cannot give legal advice to any party.⁠^[16]
• "Probable cause means I won." The Division says a probable cause finding is not the final decision in the case.⁠^[5]
• "If the Division dismisses, I can file in court instead." Only after a dismissal for administrative convenience, for untimeliness or on annulment of the election; a no-probable-cause dismissal of an employment complaint leads to court review, not a new lawsuit.⁠^[19][18]
• "The fines go to the employee." Civil fines and penalties are paid to the State.⁠^[29]

For how this process compares with the EEOC, the NYC Commission on Human Rights and a lawsuit, see the four-forum comparison. For every filing period in one place, see the master deadlines table.